The NHL All-Star weekend kicks off tonight with the NHL All-Star draft.
We’ve only seen this format used one time previously — lockouts and Olympics falling on the seasons between then and now.
Captains Nick Foligno (Columbus Blue Jackets) and Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks) will flip a puck to determine who will have the first overall pick (luckily there’s no chance Edmonton picks first again!)
Each captain will draft six defensemen, three goaltenders, and 12 forwards. All three goaltenders must be picked by round 10, and all six defensmen must be picked by round 15.
That means that a forward will be the last man picked, and last time that man was Phil Kessel. He won a car for being picked last, though, so we didn’t feel that bad about it and it also gave us a lot of this, topped off by Alex Ovechkin’s taking pictures of Kessel’s predicament.
It’s highly doubtful that Tyler Seguin will be the last one standing in the draft for the All-Star teams, as he’s got the goal scoring touch that a game where defense need not apply is suited for.
Who do you think will be Mr. Irrelevant this season?
Forwards
Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks
Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
Nick Foligno, Columbus Blue Jackets
Ryan Johansen, Columbus Blue Jackets
Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers
Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings
Patrik Elias, New Jersey Devils
John Tavares, New York Islanders
Rick Nash, New York Rangers
Bobby Ryan, Ottawa Senators
Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers
Jakub Voracek, Philadelphia Flyers
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins (*Injured, will not play)
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins (*Injured, will not play)
Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues
Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
Tyler Johnson, Tampa Bay Lightning
Phil Kessel, Toronto Maple Leafs
Radim Vrbata, Vancouver Canucks
Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Defensemen
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Arizona Coyotes
Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames
Justin Faulk, Carolina Hurricanes
Erik Johnson, Colorado Avalanche**
Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings
Ryan Suter, Minnesota Wild
Shea Weber, Nashville Predators
Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks
Kevin Shattenkirk, St. Louis Blues
Dustin Byfuglien, Winnipeg Jets
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets (*Injured, will not play)
Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings
Roberto Luongo, Florida Panthers
Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens
Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators
The captains will also be responsible for drafting three rookies to participate in the rookie competition.
The draft starts at 8 pm EST and can be seen on NBCSN, TVA Sports, and SN. (Check local listings for channel numbers and availability.)
**Editor’s Note: Erik Johnson has dropped out as well, but no replacement has been named.